My methods are based on:

minimal work, minimal spend. Maximum results.

Aldi wash and wax Carnuba 4 litres about £5 lasts for about 5 years. two cover fulls per pail.

Spray all over with hose removing as much dirt as posible.

Wash car with wash and wax mix starting from top using 35p Morrisons sponge..

Wash off tar and mud with a car brush.. £4 from local store.

Dry with a 15 years old Halfords synthetic sponge. Ensure glass is perfectly dry.

Every two years polish with Autoiglyn wax and extra shine stuff.

Ensure wheel arches are washed by hose and insides of wheels cleaned.

Time required: summer about 25 mins

Winter - about 20 mins (it's cold so I rush...and why be picky when it gets dirty so quickly).

Result : shiny car..

I wash it at least once per month.. or when needed,, whichever comes soonest. I do not wash when it is less than 5C. Period.

Tar removal: white spirit

Edited by madf on 29/12/2010 at 16:44

I found this some time ago. I hope I'm allowed to post this link.

http://forums.mercedesclub.org.uk/showthread.php?t=13592

I hosed the arches of both our vehicles yesterday. Couldn't believe how much grit, crap and salt came down on to my drive. The front arches of my wife's Punto have plastic inserts but the rear ones are completely exposed.

Don't think this winter has been very kind to cars so far :(

Edited by Halmer on 30/12/2010 at 09:05

I cannot even see my car at the moment never mind wash it I assume its still there under the snow.

Just read the post about Hyunda Andy didn't know you had words with the fraternity.For the record I drive a Ford Focus 1.6 Titanium TDCI. New car be worth a few pence in a few years who cares its only money.:) Happy new year to all.

You have said it madf you must be a brave ex SAS soldier.I am just going for a drive in my trusted spare old Hillman Imp and reliable Rootes engine 50mpg got to watch the pennies.

Back in July I washed my car with Zymol shampoo (struggled to get one without added wax/gloss agent) - 15mins

Clayed the paintwork with Bilt Hamber soft clay (water used as lubricant) - 2hrs

I washed again with shampoo and dried with microfibre towel (Big box for a tenner from Costco) - 15mins

Autoglym Super Resin Polish (the red one) - trick is to apply with a slightly damp applicator pad - covers the car in a few minutes - try it dry and it's a PITA.

Once dried, buffed it off, then applied Autoglym Extra Gloss Protection (very sparingly, no rubbing required) - 15mins

Left overnight to dry in.

Buffed off with microfibre - 15mins.

Since then I've used the Zymol maybe twice as simple shampoo and the EGP still beads up and shines like it did in July.

In total maybe 3-3.5hrs to do the whole car but it left the paint mirror-smooth and claying first does seem to make the EGP last months longer.

Edited by Lygonos on 30/12/2010 at 20:33

1) Wait until car is dirty, so you notice a big difference when it's clean.

2) Wash from roof down to sills with sponge and plenty of water.

3) When car is nearly dry, wipe over with damp wash-leather.

4) If car still looks dull, consider polishing!

I have discovered Demon Shine and been experimenting recently. I apply diluted D-S with a small pressurised garden sprayer after I have washed & rinsed the car. THen squeegee (or microfibre cloth) dry. Stay off windscreen though.

Can I ask advice? I have a newly acquired 27 year old car to clean up - inside velour trim is a bit grubby. What is best upholstery cleaner? (I do have a carpet shampoo type machine that is good but dont want to wet the old trim more than I can help). Advice appreciated.

Ed

Hmm, it is very obvious from all the advice given so far regarding cleaning a car that all contributors thus far have been, and no offence intended here, amateurs. Having been a chauffeur in several HMG ministries I can state that the correct way to wash any vehicle is to start from the bottom of the vehicle working upwards toward and finishing with the roof of the vehicle. As at that time most ministry cars were black when finished the cleanness of the car was then able to be measured. This was done by placing a six inch ruler up to and touching the surface of the car. If the vehicle was considered clean you should be then able to see every point of the ruler in the reflection of the body work.. If you could not see all the markings in the reflection you were told to "do it again laddie !"

Dearie me ! Yes I have seen gentleman before and numerous other cleaning fanatics, usually they have been our American cousins and some of those chaps even make our Vauxhall friend look like an "amateur" if you know what I mean ! Obviously our Vauxhall friend is not married or if he is she must be a saint to put up, endure, however you like to put it, the ammount of time this chap spends on his car . I think that before I posted photographs of the whole procedure on the web I would have taken the precaution of blanking/removing the reg plates as the number of offences being committed to photographs and displayed for any jobs worth from the local council is myriad ! Still in its way I suppose it is an entertaining article but lets face it people like this guy are, to be polite, "different" from what is considered normal. Vive la difference I suppose !!

Hmm, Its obvious that you would never be able to secure a position as a proffessional chauffeur my friend because "common sense" dictates that by starting at the bottom of a vehicle as you work your way upwards the parts that you have already cleaned will constantly be kept as wet as possible by the water running down from the area of bodywork you have just washed also is being permanently rinsed from your running hose..At least this was the procedure taught to us when we attended the chauffeur traing course by Rolls Royce many years ago, but then what would they know about cleaning a vehicle. Upon my discharge from the "mob" and applying for a position with the civil service as a chauffeur after reading my C.V. checking my service record and references three of us were taken into a court yard where there were three Daimler ds420`s parked. We were then asked to wash these three, already immaculate vehicles. out of the three applicants I was one of the two that were offered a position, the unlucky applicant was the only one that started from the roof of the vehicle. But as I say, probably RR and the civil service had got it all wrong !

The reason for washing from bottom to top is not because it is any better, it is because you can see what has not been washed.

If you wash from the top, you may miss areas that look clean under screeds of water but when you dry the car show up patches of uncleaned panels.

From the bottom up anything that is wet has had a sponge/mitt over it.

Unless a car is filthy, the layer of wax/sealant over the paint can handle the small amount of abrasion from slightly dirtier water being leathered off after washing.

Leaving an A4 sized patch of dirty panel is an instant fail for a chauffeur.

Such perverse thinking re car-washing is of little importance. However, I wonder if it was prevalent in their automotive research and development department?

Steady on chaps, we are starting to make this topic into something bigger than it is ! All I am saying is that in those far off dark days if "they" said thats the correct way to do the job, thats the way we expect the job to be done and you wanted to obtain the job, well, need I say more ? ! If at that time perceived wisdom had dictated that you wash from front to back or vise versa then thats the way it would have been done, I was the one applying for the position . In conclusion all I can say is that over the decades since, I can only say that this method has served me well and can only wish that I had a pound for every time a neighbouring sunday car washer has said to me,"how come I always seem to miss a bit !"

This is new to me cleaning a car from the base upwards.So when you have a shower you wash your feet first? Strange.:)

Working on harbour tugs for Piet Smit in Rotterdam as a lad over fourty years ago.The tugs where kept spotless by us deckies.You had to start on the wheelhouse roof first soft brush and worked you way down to the deck Deck was cleaned with liquid soap It was our pride to keep the tug clean .If I had had started at the base of the tug first the old man would have had a word with me.Just a different way of working.